In her Soviet Republic schools, Aida Aidakyeva had been taught America’s capitalistic society fosters only self-serving citizens intent on making a buck.

After spending six months in our neighborhood, the 17-year-old exchange student has changed her mind.

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“We hadn’t learned about American culture; the American people are so friendly and nice,” Aidakyeva says.

“They are always smiling. It’s not that way in our country.”

Aidakyeva is attending Lake Highlands High School as part of the Academic Year USA (AYUSA) Exchange Student Scholarship Program. She lives with Pebble Creek residents Sandy and Tia Bisignano and their two children, Tessa, 17, and Barrett, 13.

More than 50,000 students from the former Soviet Union, now known as the New Independent States, applied to participate in the program. Aidakyeva, who graduated at 16 with a perfect grade-point average from her high school in Kara Balta, Kyrgystan, was among 1,000 students who made the final cut to attend a U.S. school. She is one of 10 students attending a school in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the only student in RISD.

After reading about the program, the Bisignanos say they decided to become a host family.

The family has faxed information about several students and told they had 24 hours to select one. Tessa chose Aidakyeva because they both shared a love of writing and because Aidakyeva seemed to be more independent then the other applicants.

“She’s eager to try everything,” Bisignano says. “It’s been like having a third child – I feel like we got the sweetest, best exchange student out there.”

Aidakyeva says it’s an honor to be chosen for the program because most people in her country only “dream about coming to America.”

“It’s a really big deal to come here,” Aidakyeva says. “It’s an ideal for our people.”

Aidakyeva is from Kara Balta, a town of about 60,000 near the country’s capital of Bishkek and bordering China. The size of Nebraska, 95 percent of the country is covered by the Tien Shan mountain range.

Aidakyeva says since the break-up of the Soviet Union into independent states, life has been difficult because of a poor economy. Her parents, both engineers, make $60 a month and live in a small apartment.

Bisignano says she is impressed with Aidakyeva’s English abilities, motivation to learn about American history and culture and her writing skills. Aidakyeva speaks Russian and Kyrgyz and has taken six years of English, which she says isn’t a difficult language to learn.

Although Aidakyeva graduated from her high school in Kyrgystan, she is a junior at Lake Highlands High School because RISD won’t allow an exchange student to enroll as a senior. So far she has made As and Bs in English, Sociology, U.S. History, Theater, Choir and Western Dance.

Aidakyeva’s sociology teacher even asked to keep one of her papers to use as an example for next year’s class, Bisignano says.

Aidakyeva says her favorite pastimes in Dallas are shopping, watching movies and dining out. In Kyrgystan, only older films are shown at movie theaters, so Aidakyeva has seen 50 or so new movies since coming to Dallas.

Aidakyeva, who will return to Kyrgystan in May to pursue a college degree in journalism, says her American experience was a chance of a lifetime.

“I will miss my family here. I hope I get a chance to come back sometime.”